Defining the Good Life - Essay Example

?Full Defining the Good Life Wealth, health, a life without sorrow and pain are some of what seem to give people satisfaction, one that is said to be a good life. Perhaps it is. For the Greeks, a good life is one that shows happiness. However, different people have varied perspective of what brings people happiness. For some, wealth satisfies this need while others look for good health and still others, good company. Most would perhaps think a good life is the totality of having all of the aforementioned reasons for a good life and a lot more but it is a fact that people cannot have everything. It is then a matter of getting the most of what one has. For instance, a person who is lacking in wealth, according to the definition of the Greeks, can still have a good life depending on how he lives his life. That certain individual can either live in misery which is the extreme opposite of a good life or live so that he would make his life worthwhile and productive, a life that is flourishing. Human flourishing is a wonderful parallelism of the Greeks to a good life because it is perhaps the most accurate or closest accurate definition. Growing well is indeed one of the measures that show how a life is well-lived. It is not just a matter of living in luxury but it is also how a person lives to acquire a luxurious life, having the virtues a good life brings. This means that, in the case of wealthy people, they should not just enjoy what they have but strive to maintain and grow their wealth. However during the process, they should also maintain ethical attributes to keep them proud and satisfied with their achievements. When a person progresses or gains more wealth through illegal means or by using and abusing other people; that individual will definitely feel ashamed of himself. In fact, people who prosper in such a manner always live in fear of government authorities or their rivals and the people they have hurt. They may live in luxury, have money to burn but they do not have a good life because of the absence of the virtues they should possess. As the famous Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living for” (facultyfiles.frostburg.edu). Indeed, when an individual does not examine himself, he tends to commit mistakes and repeats them time and again. Obviously, a life full of mistakes and without virtues is miserable and undesirable. It is not a good life. Being a philosopher, Socrates was actually pointing out to the critical examination of things, events and ideas, the contemplation, self-examination and open-minded wondering (facultyfiles.frostburg.edu) that lead to finding the reasons for everything. A good life is a life of reasonable reasons. Reasons abound but if they are well thought, they make sense and therefore show the energy put into it. However, when reasons are shallow, they often look and sound ridiculous, exposing the life of the person that is not worth living. In relation to the aforementioned discussion on having virtues, it is acquired by having a well-examined life. One who thinks about himself and knows his strengths and weaknesses would definitely be able to build up the strengths and work on his weaknesses in order for him to become a better person. For instance, when a person knows that he has talents in arts, he can do something to develop his gift and become skillful and successful regardless of his situations. A person who knows he is gifted but does nothing to improve it spends no time contemplating about what a privilege he has, has a life not worth living. Self-examination in itself is a virtue and indulging in it develops more virtues in an individual. For example, a man who examines himself develops honesty. It would be futile to examine one’s self and deny what he sees because this will cause a person to lose his virtues instead of gaining them. However, if a man scrutinizes himself and recognizes and accepts his weaknesses and faults, positive changes follow which is the development of more virtues that show what a real good life is all about. The good life is an inner life- the life of an inquiring and ever expanding mind (facultyfiles.frostburg.edu). The good life finds reasons, understands and develops. It is a flourishing life wherein prosperity in intangible aspects of life thrive whether it may be followed by obvious evidences of success or not. Wealth, fame and education may be signs of a good life but they do not guarantee it. The best determining factors according to Socrates would still be the developments within a person. Knowing that Socrates might have inherited an estate that but eventually lived a poor life because he did not seek financial value in his being a philosopher (facultyfiles.frostburg.edu), one might say that he is quite biased with his ideals. However, when one examines the implications of his statements, they indeed show the fundamentals of a good life. Aristotle on the other hand claims that virtue is an essential component of a good life and not its parallel because being virtuous is consistent with leading an inactive life or with great suffering (Payne). To say that virtue is only a part of a good life can be acceptable but the reasoning that it is consistent with leading an inactive life and great suffering seems misinterpreted. This concept may have been derived from the virtue of patience wherein one can almost imagine it being developed in a person who inactively waits for something or someone. This is somehow placed in juxtaposition to idleness which is not a virtue. However, it must be understood that physical inactivity does not mean total inactivity or idleness. One person may not be physically doing anything while waiting but the inner self is being developed, which is consistent to the views of Socrates. On the other hand, a patient person who develops other virtues will not just be satisfied in being physically inactive but makes efforts to make his time productive while waiting. This is a sign of contemplating, an activity that shows what a good life is. Such situation would be understandable and would still be regarded as a good life because as the transliteration explains, a good life is human flourishing. This means that a good life is a process that does not take place in just one day. In considering what a good life is, Aristotle looks at honor and decides that it is not the good life. Other people may praise a man but the value of honor is when that man is happy about his honor. Honor is useless to a man who has a good name in the eyes of other people but knows that his honor is not well deserved. In such a case, there is no real happiness in a man. The philosopher considers happiness to be what makes a good life, making a person’s life complete (Payne). Nevertheless, this could also be misleading because people have different ideas about happiness. Some consider money to be the bringer of happiness to them so that they can be happy as long as they have money regardless of how they acquire their wealth. Similarly, happiness to some can be achieved by achieving one’s pleasures. Aristotle himself dismissed pleasure as the good life. Although he believes that the good life is the most pleasurable life, pleasures are often sought for in the wrong places so that it is not equivalent to a good life but rather they mislead people from it. Wealth is not even considered the good life as well. As discussed earlier, wealth may be a physical sign but it is not the good life. Some people are contented and happy even if they do not have much while others may be rich yet desire more and are never satisfied. Their wants are never quenched that their hearts are then filled with envy and greed without any room for happiness and peace of mind. So what then is the good life? This writer agrees with Socrates that a good life is a well-examined life. Whether a person gains wealth, honor, fame, glory and/or virtue or not, if contemplation becomes a part of his life, eventually there would come a life that is full of satisfaction, happiness and peace of mind knowing that his achievements have been acquired through virtuous means. A good life is one that continues to improve not just in matters which are seen but more especially in what is unseen, that is, the inner self. References Payne, W. Russ. Aristotle’s Ethics. n.d. Web. October 5, 2012. . n.a. Socrates: The Good life. n.d. 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